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International Meridian Conference

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The vertical red line left of the middle is the Greenwich meridian.

The International Meridian Conference was a conference held in October 1884 in Washington, D.C., in the United States to determine a prime meridian for international use. The conference was held at the request of U.S. President Chester A. Arthur. The subject to discuss was the choice of "a meridian to be employed as a common zero of longitude and standard of time reckoning throughout the world" (Proceedings of the 1884 International Meridian Conference, page 7). It resulted in selection of the Greenwich Meridian as an international standard for zero degrees longitude.

Participants

Twenty-five nations, represented by 41 delegates, participated in the conference:

Resolutions

The following resolutions were adopted by the conference:

  1. That it is the opinion of this Congress that it is desirable to adopt a single prime meridian for all nations, in place of the multiplicity of initial meridians which now exist. (This resolution was unanimously adopted.)
  2. That the Conference proposes to the Governments here represented the adoption of the meridian passing through the centre of the transit instrument at the Observatory of Greenwich as the initial meridian for longitude. (Ayes, 22; noes, 1; abstaining, 2.)
  3. That from this meridian longitude shall be counted in two directions up to 180 degrees, east longitude being plus and west longitude minus. (Ayes, 14; noes, 5; abstaining, 6.)
  4. That the Conference proposes the adoption of a universal day for all purposes for which it may be found convenient, and which shall not interfere with the use of local or standard time where desirable. (Ayes, 23; abstaining, 2.)
  5. That this universal day is to be a mean solar day; is to begin for all the world at the moment of mean midnight of the initial meridian, coinciding with the beginning of the civil day and date of that meridian; and is to be counted from zero up to twenty-four hours. (Ayes, 15; noes, 2; abstaining, 7.)
  6. That the Conference expresses the hope that as soon as may be practicable the astronomical and nautical days will be arranged everywhere to begin at midnight.
  7. That the Conference expresses the hope that the technical studies designed to regulate and extend the application of the decimal system to the division of angular space and of time shall be resumed, so as to permit the extension of this application to all cases in which it presents real advantages. (Ayes, 21; abstaining, 3.)

Resolution 2, fixing the meridian at Greenwich, was passed 22–1 (San Domingo, now the Dominican Republic, voted against); France and Brazil abstained. The French did not adopt the Greenwich meridian until 1911.[1]

Resolution 4 expressly exempts standard time from the universal day. Although two delegates, including Sandford Fleming, proposed the adoption of standard time by all nations, other delegates objected, stating that it was outside the purview of the conference, so neither proposal was subjected to a vote. Thus the conference did not adopt any time zones, contrary to popular belief.

Regarding resolution 6: Great Britain had already shifted the beginning of the nautical day from noon, twelve hours before midnight, to midnight in 1805, during the Battle of Trafalgar. The astronomical day was shifted from noon, twelve hours after midnight, to midnight effective 1 January 1925 by a resolution of the newly formed International Astronomical Union.

The following resolutions were not adopted:

  1. On 13 Oct : "Resolved, That the initial meridian should have a character of absolute neutrality. It should be chosen exclusively so as to secure to science and to international commerce all possible advantages, and especially should cut no great continent—neither Europe nor America." - "Twenty-one noes and three ayes." - France, Brazil, San Domingo voted in favor.

Delegates

Name Designation on behalf of ...
Baron Ignatz von Schaeffer Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Austria-Hungary
Dr. Luís Cruls Director of the Imperial Observatory of Rio de Janeiro Brazil
Commodore S. R. Franklin U.S. Navy, Superintendent U.S. Naval Observatory Colombia
Mr. Juan Francisco Echeverria Civil Engineer Costa Rica
Mr. A. Lefaivre Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul-General France
Pierre Janssen Director of the Physical Observatory of Paris France
Baron H. von Alvensleben Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary German Empire
Captain Sir F. J. O. Evans Royal Navy Great Britain
Prof. J. C. Adams Director of the Cambridge Observatory Great Britain
Lieut.-General Richard Strachey Member of the Council of India Great Britain
Mr. Sandford Fleming representing the Dominion of Canada Great Britain
M. Miles Rock President of the Boundary Commission Guatemala
Hon. W. D. Alexander Surveyor-General Hawaii
Hon. Luther Aholo Privy Counsellor Hawaii
Count Albert de Foresta First Secretary of Legation Italy
Professor Kikuchi Dairoku Dean of the Scientific Department of the University of Tokyo Japan
Mr. Leandro Fernandez Civil Engineer Mexico
Mr. Angel Anguiano Director of the National Observatory of Mexico Mexico
Captain John Stewart Counsul-General Paraguay
Mr. C. E Struve Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Russia
Major-General Stebnitzki Imperial Russian Staff Russia
Mr. J. de Kologrivoff Conseiller d'État actuel Russia
Mr. M. de J. Galvan Envoy extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary San Domingo
Mr. Antonio Batres Envoy extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Salvador
Mr. Juan Valera Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Spain
Mr. Emilio Ruiz del Arbol Naval Attaché to the Spanish Legation Spain
Mr. Juan Pastorin Officer of the Navy Spain
Count Carl Lewenhaupt Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Sweden
Colonel Emile Frey Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Switzerland
Rear-Admiral C. R. P. Rodgers U.S. Navy United States
M. Lewis Morris Rutherfurd United States
Mr. W. F. Allen Secretary Railway Time Conventions United States
Commander W. T. Sampson U.S. Navy United States
Professor Cleveland Abbe U.S. Signal Office United States
Señor Dr. A. M. Soteldo Chargé d'Affaires Venezuela
Mr. Francisco Vidal Gormaz Director of the Hydrographic Office Chile
Mr. Alavaro Bianchi Tupper Assistant Director Chile
Mr. Carl Steen Andersen de Bille Minister Resident and Consul-General Denmark
Mr. Hinckeldeyn Attaché of the German Legation Germany
Mr. William Coppinger Consul-General Liberia
Mr. G. de Weckherlin Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Netherlands
Rustem Effendi Secretary of Legation Ottoman Empire

References

  1. ^ Paris Walking Tours - Observatory of Paris
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